Page:The shoemaker's apron (1920).djvu/250

 “At least,” she thought. to herself, “by making him my husband, I’ll save his wages.”

It wasn’t long before the devil found out that life as a husband was even harder than life as a laborer. Now without wages he had ten times more to do while Gentle Dora did nothing but spend her time hunting work for him.

“Why do you think I’ve married,” she would cry, “if it isn’t to have some one take care of me!”

So she would stand over him and scold and scold and scold while he, poor devil, toiled and sweated, doing the work of six men.

Time went by and the devil grew thinner and thinner and paler and paler. Gentle Dora begrudged him every mouthful he ate and was forever harping on his enormous appetite.

At last one day she said to him:

“You’re simply eating me out of house and home. From now on you will have to board yourself. As I’m an honest woman I’ll treat you justly. This year we’ll divide the harvest half and half. Which will you have: that which grows above the ground, or that which grows below the ground?”

This sounded fair enough and the devil said: